Streets : Dry Your Eyes

Streets : Dry Your Eyes

Geezer shows sensitive side, nation sobs...

A friend of NME’s went to see [a][/a] recently and was a bit taken aback.

It wasn’t that the 2,000 people packed into Manchester Apollo were bouncing for Britain, that’s expected. But, apparently, they were also singing every word back at Mike Skinner like their lives depended on

it. He had no idea that Mike Skinner and, more specifically, Mike Skinner’s words mattered so much to people.

You can argue that [a]Morrissey[/a] is the best lyricist ever. Others marvel at [a]Eminem[/a]’s verbal dexterity. Some even find wisdom in Kurt Cobain’s sixth-form poetry. But what the British music-buying public have always loved, whether it’s [a]Paul Weller[/a], Suggs from [a]Madness[/a] or even Damon Albarn,

is one of their own who can encapsulate the British suburban experience in a killer three-minute pop song. Basically, Britain wants someone who likes a pint, shops

in Asda, goes to the match, reads the Daily Mirror and shares their frustrations – someone unpretentious, basically. Someone who talks their language, yet is sensitive enough to use that language to chart life’s upheavals.

If ‘A Grand Don’t Come For Free’ nixed any lingering doubts about [a][/a] and established Skinner as